- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
- Messages
- 3,258
...is the only thing between a lovely day of riding and disaster.
Yesterday was a lovely warm day, much warmer than it should be for this time of year up here. I gleefully shut down all the machinery in my shop and mounted up for an afternoon's ride. I had a couple missions to accomplish during the ride, as many people have adjusted to the higher gas prices, often a ride is encorporated with an errand run. Much was the purpose of today's outing. I rode out to ManchVegas for a quick visit to Manchester Harley-Buell to check out the new Ulysses (sweet... very sweet).
On the way back I was booting along about 60mph down a long lonely straight stretch of two-lane with woods on both sides. I was the only one it my lane, but a single car in the oncoming lane. Scant seconds before I met the oncoming car, a TREE FELL right in front of me, falling from my side of the road onto the pavement. I had very little time to react! Read on.
In the 31 years I have held a driver's license, this has never happened to me. Even in stromy weather, I have seen a branch fall out of a tree, and perhaps land on the road before me, or snow and ice drop from a tree onto the vehicle, but never a TREE falling onto my path.
My gut reaction was to grab all the brake I could and hope I didn't eat it. The trunk of the tree, which I believe was a small poplar, was at least 8" in diameter, well at least the part of the tree that was to my right. The top of the tree was completely across the road, but just small branches and limbs. The oncoming car swerved off the road and lighty brushed the branches. I had no place to go!
My gut told me to brake hard, but my brains told me to ride it out, that there wasn't any time for braking - not with the frisbee and chalkboard erasers Kawasaki calls a KLR braking system. No way. I couldn't tackle the trunk at speed. By now I had slowed to around 50ish. I held on and did the only thing I thought would giv eme the best chance of survival... I decided to ride through the treetop itself.
All this happened in a split second, yet all of it so real, so clear - as if in a dream. I assed back on the seat and ducked behind the cowl and rode through the tree. The old poplar was brittle and shattered like a candy cnae dropped on the floor. A huge chunk of branch caught me on the left shin and thwacked me pretty good. I slowed down and checked my bike for any damage, or sticks in the radiator. Nothing. Phew!
The ride home was uneventful, but I felt really bad about not getting a photo. Dang it, when I really needed a camera and didn't have one. Well I know that there's nothign like getting a picture ot if, but I took a pic of my leg and the minor scrapes.
So there is the story of my exciting day. A simple twist of fate is all it takes for disaster to strike. Wear your gear ALWAYS! I'm lucky all I got was a couple bruises. It could have been much worse.
Peace, Bros!
Yesterday was a lovely warm day, much warmer than it should be for this time of year up here. I gleefully shut down all the machinery in my shop and mounted up for an afternoon's ride. I had a couple missions to accomplish during the ride, as many people have adjusted to the higher gas prices, often a ride is encorporated with an errand run. Much was the purpose of today's outing. I rode out to ManchVegas for a quick visit to Manchester Harley-Buell to check out the new Ulysses (sweet... very sweet).
On the way back I was booting along about 60mph down a long lonely straight stretch of two-lane with woods on both sides. I was the only one it my lane, but a single car in the oncoming lane. Scant seconds before I met the oncoming car, a TREE FELL right in front of me, falling from my side of the road onto the pavement. I had very little time to react! Read on.
In the 31 years I have held a driver's license, this has never happened to me. Even in stromy weather, I have seen a branch fall out of a tree, and perhaps land on the road before me, or snow and ice drop from a tree onto the vehicle, but never a TREE falling onto my path.
My gut reaction was to grab all the brake I could and hope I didn't eat it. The trunk of the tree, which I believe was a small poplar, was at least 8" in diameter, well at least the part of the tree that was to my right. The top of the tree was completely across the road, but just small branches and limbs. The oncoming car swerved off the road and lighty brushed the branches. I had no place to go!
My gut told me to brake hard, but my brains told me to ride it out, that there wasn't any time for braking - not with the frisbee and chalkboard erasers Kawasaki calls a KLR braking system. No way. I couldn't tackle the trunk at speed. By now I had slowed to around 50ish. I held on and did the only thing I thought would giv eme the best chance of survival... I decided to ride through the treetop itself.
All this happened in a split second, yet all of it so real, so clear - as if in a dream. I assed back on the seat and ducked behind the cowl and rode through the tree. The old poplar was brittle and shattered like a candy cnae dropped on the floor. A huge chunk of branch caught me on the left shin and thwacked me pretty good. I slowed down and checked my bike for any damage, or sticks in the radiator. Nothing. Phew!
The ride home was uneventful, but I felt really bad about not getting a photo. Dang it, when I really needed a camera and didn't have one. Well I know that there's nothign like getting a picture ot if, but I took a pic of my leg and the minor scrapes.
So there is the story of my exciting day. A simple twist of fate is all it takes for disaster to strike. Wear your gear ALWAYS! I'm lucky all I got was a couple bruises. It could have been much worse.
Peace, Bros!
